Condensate drainage mechanism for fluid storage apparatus



1366- 1948- J. H. WIGGINS CONDENSATE DRAINAGE MECHANISM FOR FLUID STORAGE APPARATUS Filed Aug. 1'7, 1946 INVENTOR; J HN H. W/GG/NS A TTORNE Y Patented Dec. 28, 1948 :13:

CONDENSATE DRAINAGE MECI I ANISM FOR FLUID STORAGE APPARATUS John H. Wiggins, Chicago, 111. Application August 17, 1946, Serial No. 691,309

This invention relates to fluid storage apparatus of the general type or kind that comprise a vertically-movable' upper portion or roof, arranged in telescopic relation with a stationary lower portion or tank, and a means for joining said roof and tank in a gas-tight manner, said means usually being formed by a flexible sealing element attached to said roof and tank in such away as to provide for the vertical movement of the roof. In one kind of fluid storage apparatus of the general type above mentioned, the verticallymovable roof is of greater diameter than the side wall of the tank and is provided atits peripheral edge with a depending skirt or side wall portion, having a condensate reservoir or trough on its inner side that is adapted to receive and hold condensate that collects on the interior of the vertically-movable roof, and on the flexible sealing element that forms a dry seal between the relatively-movable upper and lower portions of the apparatus.

My present invention has for one of its objects to provide a novel means or mechanism for automatically draining, removing or discharging condensate from the condensate reservoir or trough of a fluid storage apparatus of the particular kind last referred to.

Another object is to provide a condensate drainage means fora liquid storage apparatus of the dry seal, lifter-roof-type, whichis of such design and construction, that in addition to causing condensate to be automatically conveyed away from the condensate reservoir and discharged into the tank or lower stationary part of the apparatus, it also eliminates the possibility of liquid in said tank backin up through said drain and entering the condensate reservoir or the loop of the flexible sealing element that constitutes the dry seal between the stationary tank and the lifter roof of the apparatus.

And still anotherobject of my invention is to provide a condensate drainage mechanism of the kind above described, that can be inspected, cleaned or repaired without taking the apparatus out of service.

Ehe figure of the drawing is a fragmentary, vertical, transverse sectional view of a fluid storage apparatus equipped with a condensate drainage mechanism, constructed in accordance with my present invention.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates one form of my invention, A designates the verticallymovable roof of the apparatus that is of greater diameter than the tank of the apparatus and projects laterally. beyond the side wall of said Claims. (01.48-176) wall and to the inner side wall of the condensate tank, B designates the skirt or depending side wall portion at the peripheral edge of the roof, that is arranged in telescopic relation with the side wall of the stationary tank E, which constitutes.

I, the lower portion of the apparatus, C designates the condensate reservoir or trough, herein illustrated as extending circumferentially around the inner side of the skirt B at the bottom edge of same, and G designates a flexible sealing element, attached usually to the top edge of the tank side reservoir C, and constructed so as to provide for the rise and fall of the Vertically-movable upper portion of the apparatus, relatively to the stationary lower portion of the apparatus.

Briefly stated, my broad idea consists of a drainage mechanism ior the condensate reservoir C, composed of a flexible or jointed drain 1 leading from said reservoir to the interior of the tank E, plus some kind of an automatically-operating means for preventing liquid in the tank E from backing u in the drain I and entering the reservoirC in such quantities as to flood the reservoir C and spill out of same onto the flexible sealing element G. The means just referred to can be constructed and arranged in various ways,

without departing from the spirit of my invention. It may consist of a check valve arranged in the drain atany point between the tank E and the reservoir C, or it may consist of a vertical discharge portion for the drain 1 arranged in the tank E with the upper end of said discharge portion located at a level above the top edge of the side wall of the tank E, or higher than the maximum level of the liquid in the tank E. Preferably, and as herein shown, I construct my im proved condensate ,drainage mechanism from the following elements, to wit:

(1) A flexible or jointed drain I leading from the bottom of the condensate reservoir C and attached at its lower end ,to the side wall of the tank E at a point intermediate the bottom of the tank and the lowest position of the reservoir C;

(2) A check valve 7 in the drain I located at the lower end of same adjacent the point where said drain is attached to the tank side wall; and

(3) A vertical discharge portion or pipe 2 for the drain I located inside of the tank with its open upper end l2 located in a horizontal plane at or above the top edge of the tank side, and provided at itslower end with a horizontallydisposed portion 3 attached to the tank side wall andin direct communication with the lower end of the drain I. In order that said drainage mechanism may be easily inspected, cleaned, or repaired without taking the tank out of service,

I prefer to detachably connect the drain I and discharge portion 2 of said drain, to a removable cover plate 5 on a sleeve 4 Welded to the outer side of the tank side wall, I arrange manuallyoperated valves 6 and 8 in the drain I at the lower and upper ends of same, and I provide the roof A of the apparatus with a removable manhole cover I0 located in approximately vertical alignment with the discharge portion 2 of the drain I,

In an apparatus of the construction above described, the roof A and the depending skirt B on the roof that carries the condensate reservoir C,

move upwardly and downwardly in the normal functioning of the apparatus, as indicated in broken lines in the drawing. The side wall 'of the tank E of the apparatus may be from thirty feet to fifty feet high, and the roof A with the parts thereon may have a rise of, say, ten feet.

Thus, if the roof has a ten foot rise, the condensate reservoir C is about five feet below the top edge of the tank side wall when the roof is in its lowermost position, shown in full lines in the drawing. roof, when the reservoir 0 reaches a level higher than the open upper end I2 of the discharge portion 2 of the drain I, condensate that has collected in said reservoir will drain out of said reservoir and enter the tank E.

While the vertically-disposed discharge portion 2 of the drain makes the mechanism safer, in that it eliminates the possibility of liquid from the tank E backing up through the drain and entering the reservoir C in suificient quantity to spill over into the flexible sealing element G, even though the tank is full of liquid and the check valve I is in a leaky condition, I wish it to be understood that said discharge portion 2 is not an essential element of my mechanism, and may be omitted without departing from the spirit of my invention. The essential element that makes the mechanism practicable, from a commercial standpoint, is the check valve 1 arranged between the tank and the condensate reservoir C. Even though said check valve is in a leaky condition (for example, permits liquid in the tank to back up into the drain I at the rate of one gallon or several gallons per day) no harm would be done, 1st, because the reservoir C is of a size capable of holding one or two weeks accumulation of condensate; and 2nd, because the apparatus is of such design or construction that the roof and the condensate reservoir carried by same will rise high enough every day, or at least every two or three days, to insure that practically all of the liquid in the reservoir C will escape from same through the drain I. Usually, the reservoir C will be constructed so as to hold two weeks or more accumulation of condensate, without ever draining. For example, in an apparatus having a foot diameter tank, the condensate reservoir would be capable of containing about gallons of liquid for a normal condensate rate of about 3 gallons per day, and in an apparatus having a 120 foot diameter tank, the condensate reservoir would be designed so as to be capable of holding about 200 gallons for a 12 gallon daily normal condensate rate. The roof of the apparatus Will intermittently rise high enough to drain the reservoir C dry, regardless of whether or not the tank of the apparatus is full of liquid. Thus, for a 30 foot tank, a maximum of 3 to 12 gallons of condensate can collect in the reservoir C before said reservoir is drained dry. This leaves a mini-v mum of 38 gallons that the check valve 1 can leak in three days before reservoir C is even filled.

During the upward movement of the Any check valve should be more efficient than that. If it is not, it should be repaired. On a foot tank, in the above mentioned 3 day period, 36 gallons of condensate might collect in reservoir C, leaving 164 gallons that would have to leak back through the check valve I, to even fill reservoir C. From the foregoing, it will be seen that the vertically-disposeddischarge portion 2 of the drain I can be omitted without materially detracting from the efiiciency of my improved drainage mechanism. I prefer, however, to construct the mechanism in the manner illustrated .in the drawing, "as such a mechanism is absolutely safe. A vertically-disposed discharge portion 2 adds safety to a drain I, provided with a check valve I, and a check valve I combined with a drain I provided with a vertically-disposed discharge portion 2, eliminates the possibility of the reservoir C being flooded by liquid in the tank, in the event said discharge portion 2 breaks. In case the discharge portion 2 breaks or becomes leaky, it can be removed by lowering the level of the liquid in the tank Eto a point below the sleeve 5 on the tank side wall, and then unbolting the cover plate 5 and pulling the discharge portion 2 out of the tank through the manhole in the roof, by means of a rope or the like attached to a handle 9 on said discharge portion 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A liquid storage apparatus, comprising a storage tank, a vertically-movable roof that extends beyond the side wall of said tank, a reser-' voir mounted on said roof so as to receive condensate that drains from the peripheral portion of thereof, a flexible sealing element between said roof and tank disposed so that condensate on said sealing element will drain into said reservoir, a condensate drain attached to said reservoir and tank for conducting condensate from said reservoir into the interior of the tank, said drain having provision for providing for the vertical movement of the roof, and an automaticallyoperating means for preventing liquid in the tank check valve arranged in said drain between said tank and reservoir.

3. An apparatus of the kind described in claim 1, in which said means comprises a discharge portion for said drain, mounted in fixed relation with the tank and arranged in the tank with its upper end disposed above the level of the liquid in the tank.

4. An apparatus of the kind described in claim 1,.in which said means comprises a one-way check valve in said drain arranged between the tank and reservoir, and a discharge portion for said drain, mounted in fixed relation with the tank and arranged in the tank with its open end disposed above the level of the liquid in the tank.

5. An apparatus of the kind described in claim 1, provided with a manually-operated means for cutting off the flow of liquid from the tank into said drain.-

- 6. An apparatus of the kind described in claim 1, in which said means comprises a discharge portion for said drain arranged vertically in the tank with its upper end disposed above the top edge of the tank side wall, and a manually-operated shut-off valve in said drain located on the exterior of the tank.

-'l. Auliquid storage apparatus, comprising a tank having a side wall, a vertically-movable roof of greater diameter than the tank side wall, provided at its peripheral edge with a depending skirt arranged in telescopic relation with said side wall, a flexible sealing element attached to said skirt and side wall, an annular condensate reservoir attached to the inner side of said skirt,

a flexible or jointed drain leading downwardly from said reservoir and attached to the tank side wall, and means for preventing liquid in the tank from backing up through said drain in suflicient quantity to flood said reservoir during the normal functioning of the apparatus.

8. An apparatus of the kind described in claim 7, in which said means comprises a one-way check valve arranged in said drain on the exterior of the tank.

9. An apparatus of the kind described in claim '7, in which said means includes a one-way check valve in said drain, a vertically-disposed discharge portion for the drain mounted inside of the tank, and. a supporting means for said discharge portion detachably connected to the exterior of the tank.

10. A liquid storage apparatus, comprising a tank having a side wall, a vertically-movable roof for said tank whose peripheral portion projects laterally beyond the tank side wall, a dry seal between said roof and tank side wall, a condensate collection reservoir carried by said roof, a drain leading from said reservoir and attached at its lower end to the tank side wall, a vertically-disposed discharge pipe for said drain arranged inside of the tank and detachably connected to the tank side wall, a check valve arranged in said drain between said reservoir and tank, a removable manhole closure on said roof that provides access to said discharge pipe, and a manuallyoperated cut-01f valve in said drain arranged on the exterior of the tank.

JOHN H. WIGGINS. No references cited. 

